Monday, May 29, 2017

Today's blog recommends two books that will bring you up to speed on the impact of the maker movement in schools. Paula Hollohan is the Instructional Technologies & Information Specialist in the Doucette Library who keeps up with technology trends in education. Check in with Paula's blog, Doucette Ed Tech if you'd like to keep up with all sorts of cool and interesting, wide-ranging topics.

I, too, will be coming up with some summertime reading recommendations in about two weeks - NOT focused on technology, as you might expect. So stay tuned for fiction and nonfiction reads whether you're at the beach, cabin, or in the back garden. There will be something for everyone.

Tammy

Summer Reading

By: Paula Hollohan

Summer is a time to re-energize and have some time for new
learning in a more relaxed atmosphere.
That’s everything I love about summer reading except that the location
can and be the beach or the deck. Set
your sights on something you are interested in, get a big set of post it notes
and away you go.

This summer, I am recommending two reads to reinforce the
notion of the “Maker Mindset.”

Both books, while not published this year, are new enough to
speak to the notion of making embedded in curriculum and in school culture more
completely than a room called a “Maker Space” ever could be. That is not to say that having a makerspace
in any facility that you educate in is not a great bonus but without a leading
edge, expensive maker space, any educator can still advance the notion of
making in any environment.

Beginning with Chapter 1, “We are all
Makers,” this book, published in 2016, gives a generous overview of the maker
movement and some specifics about how it fits in education and more generally,
how it is changing the real world.
Chapter 7 specifically addresses the nature and conditions needed to
adopt a “maker mindset.” This book is a
quick read to give educators a great foundation in what maker is and what is
looks like within each community.

This book speaks
directly to educators no matter what stage they are at in embracing the maker
movement. He addresses, because of his
own experience, just how difficult it is to lead a revolution in a school
system. However, the information
contained here will give educators much to talk and think about. Many questions will be addressed, like how to
create meaningful learning while having innovative students and educators
leading the way.

Have a great summer and allow these two great books to help
inform your practice in September.

Both books are currently being catalogued and will shortly
be available in the Doucette Library.

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About Me

I am the reference coordinator at The Doucette Library of Teaching Resources, a curriculum library in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary.
I love connecting education students and teachers with engaging and exciting resources for classroom teaching. I believe that resources that get me excited (or those that get you excited) are the ones with the best potential to get kids interested in learning about - well, everything. Finding those books that connect to the real world are the ones I enjoy promoting the most.